Moving picture coding/decoding method and apparatus

ABSTRACT

An image decoding apparatus is provided. The image decoding apparatus includes a processor which obtains information about a color representation from a bitstream, obtains a residue, which corresponds to a difference between a current image and a predicted image of the current image, from the bitstream, and reconstructs the current image by using the residue and the predicted image, based on the information about the color representation.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation application of application U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/597,627 filed in the United States onJan. 15, 2015 now patented as U.S. Pat. No. 9,131,244, which is acontinuation application of U.S. Ser. No. 11/405,420 filed in the UnitedStates on Apr. 18, 2006 now patented as U.S. Pat. No. 8,928,476, whichclaims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.60/672,047, filed on Apr. 18, 2005, in the U.S. Trademark and PatentOffice, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a moving picture coding/decoding methodand apparatus, and more particularly, to a moving picturecoding/decoding method and apparatus using the H.264/MPEG-4 AVC FRExt(Advanced Video Coding Fidelity Range Extensions) standard.

2. Description of Related Art

A new RGB coding technology referred to as “residual color transform”was developed during the development of the H.264/MPEG-4 AVC FRExtstandard. This technology is for preventing image quality deteriorationthat occurs when a transform from a RGB color space to a YCbCr colorspace is performed. However, RGB coding technologies according toH.264/MPEG-4 AVC FRExt still do not ensure a sufficiently high codingefficiency to be applied to moving picture reproducing apparatuses.

Thus, there is a need for coding technologies according to H.264/MPEG-4AVC FRExt that ensure a sufficiently high coding efficiency to beapplied to moving picture reproducing apparatuses.

BRIEF SUMMARY

An aspect of the present invention provides a moving picturecoding/decoding method and apparatus that can increase the codingefficiency of a moving picture using a RGB coding technology accordingto H.264/MPEG-4 AVC FRExt.

An aspect of the present invention also provides a computer readablerecording medium having embodied thereon a computer program for themoving picture coding/decoding method.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided amoving picture coding method comprising: (a) selecting a prediction modeto be commonly applied to all the color components constituting a colorspace; (b) generating first residual data corresponding to differencesbetween a current picture and a predicted picture for each of the colorcomponents according to the prediction mode selected in operation (a);(c) generating second residual data corresponding to differences betweenthe first residual data for each of the color components; and (d) codingthe generated second residual data.

According another aspect of the present invention, there is provided acomputer readable recording medium having embodied thereon a computerprogram for the above-described moving picture coding method.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda moving picture coding apparatus comprising: a selection unit selectinga prediction mode to be commonly applied to all the color componentsconstituting a color space; a subtractor generating first residual datacorresponding to differences between a current picture and a predictedpicture for each of the color components according to the predictionmode selected by the selection unit; a transform unit generating secondresidual data corresponding to differences between the first residualdata generated by the subtractor; and a coding unit coding the secondresidual data generated by the transform unit.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda moving picture coding method comprising: (a) selecting a color spacefrom among a plurality of color spaces; (b) generating first residualdata corresponding to differences between a current picture and apredicted picture for each of the color components constituting theselected color space; (c) generating second residual data correspondingto differences between the generated first residual data; and (d) codingthe generated second residual data.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda computer readable recording medium having embodied thereon a computerprogram for the above-described moving picture coding method.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda moving picture coding apparatus comprising: a selection unit selectinga color space from among a plurality of color spaces; a subtractorgenerating first residual data corresponding to differences between acurrent picture and a predicted picture for each of the color componentsconstituting the color space selected by the selection unit; a transformunit generating second residual data corresponding to differencesbetween the first residual data generated by the subtractor; and acoding unit coding the second residual data generated by the transformunit.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda moving picture coding method comprising: (a) selecting a color spacefrom among a plurality of color spaces; (b) selecting a prediction modeto be commonly applied to all the color components constituting theselected color space; (b) generating first residual data correspondingto differences between a current picture and a predicted picture foreach of the color components constituting the selected color spaceaccording to the selected prediction mode; (c) generating secondresidual data corresponding to differences between the generated firstresidual data; and (d) coding the generated second residual data.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda computer readable recording medium having embodied thereon a computerprogram for the above-described moving picture coding method.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda moving picture coding apparatus comprising: a first selection unitselecting a color space from among a plurality of color spaces; a secondselection unit selecting a prediction mode to be commonly applied to allthe color components constituting the color space selected by the firstselection unit; a subtractor generating first residual datacorresponding to differences between a current picture and a predictedpicture for each of the color components according to the predictionmode selected by the second selection unit; a transform unit generatingsecond residual data corresponding to differences between the firstresidual data generated by the subtractor; and a coding unit coding thesecond residual data generated by the transform unit.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda moving picture coding method comprising: (a) selecting firstprediction modes to be independently applied to color componentsconstituting a color space or a second prediction mode to be commonlyapplied to all the color components of the color space; and (b)generating first residual data corresponding to differences between acurrent picture and a predicted picture for each of the color componentsaccording to the first prediction modes or the second prediction modeselected in operation (a).

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda computer readable recording medium having embodied thereon a computerprogram for the above-described moving picture coding method.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda moving picture coding apparatus comprising: a selection unit selectingfirst prediction modes to be independently applied to color componentsconstituting a color space or a second prediction mode to be commonlyapplied to all the color components of the color space; and a subtractorgenerating first residual data corresponding to differences between acurrent picture and a predicted picture for each of the color componentsaccording to the first prediction modes or the second prediction modeselected by the selection unit.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda moving picture decoding method comprising: (a) generating secondresidual data corresponding to differences between first residual databy decoding a bitstream; (b) generating the first residual datacorresponding to the sum of the generated second residual data in acolor space; (c) generating a prediction picture for each colorcomponent constituting the color space according to a prediction modethat is commonly applied to all the color components; and (d) generatinga reconstructed picture corresponding to the sum of the generated firstresidual data and the generated predicted pictures.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda computer readable recording medium having embodied thereon a computerprogram for the above-described moving picture decoding method.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda moving picture decoding apparatus comprising: a decoding unitgenerating second residual data corresponding to differences betweenfirst residual data by decoding a bitstream; an inverse transform unitgenerating first residual data corresponding to the sum of the generatedsecond residual data in a color space; a prediction unit generating aprediction picture for each color component constituting the color spaceaccording to a prediction mode that is commonly applied to all the colorcomponents; and an adder generating a reconstructed picturecorresponding to the sum of the first residual data generated by theinverse transform unit and the predicted pictures generated by theprediction unit.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda moving picture decoding method comprising: (a) generating secondresidual data corresponding to differences between first residual databy decoding a bitstream; (b) generating the first residual datacorresponding to the sum of the generated second residual data in acolor space selected from among a plurality of color spaces; (c)generating a reconstructed picture corresponding to the sum of thegenerated first residual data and predicted pictures.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda computer readable recording medium having embodied thereon a computerprogram for the above-described moving picture decoding method.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda moving picture decoding apparatus comprising: a decoding unitgenerating second residual data corresponding to differences betweenfirst residual data by decoding a bitstream; an inverse transform unitgenerating the first residual data corresponding to the sum of thegenerated second residual data in a color space selected from among aplurality of color spaces; and an adder generating a reconstructedpicture corresponding to the sum of the first residual data generated bythe inverse transform unit and predicted pictures.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda moving picture decoding method comprising: (a) generating secondresidual data corresponding to differences between first residual databy decoding a bitstream; (b) generating the first residual datacorresponding to the sum of the generated second residual data in acolor space selected from among a plurality of color spaces; (c)generating a predicted picture for each color component of the colorspace according to a prediction mode that is commonly applied to all thecolor components; and (d) generating a reconstructed picturecorresponding to the sum of the generated first residual data and thegenerated predicted pictures.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda computer readable recording medium having embodied thereon a computerprogram for the above-described moving picture decoding method.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda moving picture decoding apparatus comprising: a decoding unitgenerating second residual data corresponding to differences betweenfirst residual data by decoding a bitstream; an inverse transform unitgenerating the first residual data corresponding to the sum of thegenerated second residual data in a color space selected from among aplurality of color spaces; a prediction unit generating a predictedpicture for each of the color components constituting the color spaceaccording to a prediction mode that is commonly applied to all the colorcomponents; and an adder generating a reconstructed picturecorresponding to the sum of the first residual data generated by theinverse transform unit and the predicted pictures generated by theprediction unit.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda moving picture decoding method comprising: (a) generating a predictionpicture for each color component constituting the color space accordingto first prediction modes that are independently applied to the colorcomponents constituting the color space or a second prediction mode thatis commonly applied to all the color components; and (b) generating areconstructed picture based on the generated predicted pictures.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda computer readable recording medium having embodied thereon a computerprogram for the above-described moving picture decoding method.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda moving picture decoding apparatus comprising: a prediction unitgenerating a prediction picture for each color component constitutingthe color space according to first prediction modes that areindependently applied to the color components constituting the colorspace or a second prediction mode that is commonly applied to all thecolor components constituting the color space; and an adder generating areconstructed picture based on the predicted pictures generated by theprediction unit.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is providedan image decoding apparatus comprising: a processor which obtainsinformation about a color representation from a bitstream, obtains aresidue, which corresponds to a difference between a current image and apredicted image of the current image, from the bitstream, andreconstructs the current image by using the residue and the predictedimage, based on the information about the color representation, whereinthe processor is configured to obtain a prediction direction of a chromacomponent from among a plurality of prediction modes associated with aprediction mode of a luma component, wherein the plurality of predictionmodes include a first mode in which the prediction direction of thechroma component is identical to the prediction direction of the lumacomponent and a second mode in which the prediction direction of thechroma component is different from the prediction direction of the lumacomponent, and to obtain the predicted image based on the predictiondirection of the luma component and the prediction direction of thechroma component.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is providedan apparatus, wherein the information about the color representationindicates a color space into which color components are represented.

Additional and/or other aspects and advantages of the present inventionwill be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part,will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice ofthe invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and/or other aspects and advantages of the present inventionwill become apparent and more readily appreciated from the followingdetailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a moving picture coding apparatus accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates the selection of a size of blocks in the movingpicture coding apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates the selection of a motion vector in the movingpicture coding apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 illustrates the selection of a prediction direction in the movingpicture coding apparatus in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 illustrates changes in correlation between residual data when asingle prediction mode is applied to different color components in anembodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates the correlation between color components when asingle prediction mode is applied to all the color components in anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a moving picture decoding apparatusaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 8A and 8B are flowcharts of a moving picture coding methodaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a moving picture decoding method according toan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is the results of a simulation test according to embodiments ofthe present invention.

FIG. 11 is a graph comparatively showing the coding efficiencies in alossless mode in embodiments according to the present invention; and

FIGS. 12A and 12B are rate distortion (RD) curves obtained through asimulation of embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the presentinvention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elementsthroughout. The embodiments are described below in order to explain thepresent invention by referring to the figures.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a moving picture coding apparatus accordingto an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a moving picture coding apparatus according to anembodiment of the present invention includes a color space selectionunit 101, an inter prediction mode selection unit 102, a motionestimation unit 103, a motion compensation unit 104, an intra predictionmode selection unit 105, an intra prediction unit 106, a subtractor 107,a residue transform unit 108, a frequency domain transform unit 109, aquantization unit 110, an entropy coding unit 111, an dequantizationunit 112, a frequency domain inverse transform unit 113, a residueinverse transform unit 114, an adder 115, and a filter 116.

The color space selection unit 101 adaptively selects a color space fromamong a plurality of color spaces based on the characteristics of acurrent picture. Non-limiting examples of color spaces include a YCgCocolor space and a RGB color space. In the YCgCo color space, Y indicatesa luma component, Co indicates a chroma orange component, and Cgindicates a chroma green component. In the RGB color space, R indicatesred color component, G indicates a green color component, and Bindicates a blue color component.

A scheme of coding a current picture will be referred to hereafter as“residual color transform” or (RCT) in the YCgCo color space and as“inter-plane prediction” or (IPP) in the RGB color space.

The RGB color space includes an R component, a G component, and a Bcomponent which can be perceived by humans. Accordingly, when the colorspace selection unit 101 selects another color space, for example, theYCgCo color space, not the RGB color space, after coding has beenperformed in the YCgCo color space, a transform from the YCgCo colorspace to the RGB color space should be performed.

According to the results of numerous experiments performed using sets ofhigh quality images, such as high definition (HD) moving pictures, filmscan images, Thompson Viper sequences, etc., there is no panacea forimages having various characteristics and bit rates. Some images containserious film grain noise in a color component, other images containthermal noise, and other images have saturated color characteristics.RCT is efficient in a certain case, and IPP is efficient in anothercase. Therefore, in the present embodiment, one of RCT and IPP isadaptively used according to image characteristics. A moving picturedecoding apparatus may be informed as to which of RCT and IPP is used inthe moving picture coding apparatus by a single bit flag according toH.264/MPEG-4 AVC FRExt.

In a high bit rate environment, the coding efficiency of moving picturesis higher in RCT than in IPP. However, in RCT, due to the transformbetween different color spaces, the image quality deteriorates.Especially, when many noise components exist in a current picture orwhen the configuration of a current picture is complex, such imagequality deterioration is serious. The color space selection unit 101selects the RGB color space when many noise components exist in acurrent picture or when the configuration of a current picture iscomplex, or the YCgCo color space when almost no noise components existin a current picture or when the configuration of a current picture issimple. In other words, the color space selection unit 101 adaptivelyselects a color space based on the characteristics of the movingpicture, such as bit rate, coded sequences, etc.

The inter prediction mode selection unit 102 selects inter predictionmodes to be independently applied to the color components constitutingthe color space selected by the color selection unit 101 or a singleinter prediction mode to be commonly applied to all the color componentsconstituting the color space selected by the color space selection unit101. In general, when all color components have different motion vectorsin an inter prediction mode, residual data of the all color componentshave different characteristics, and thus there is almost no correlationbetween the residual data of the different color components. Thus, inthe present embodiment, the use of a single prediction mode, i.e., asingle block size, a single motion vector, etc., for all the colorcomponents is suggested to increase the correlation between the residualdata of the different color components. The use of a single predictionmode provides more natural images than when RGB components have similartexture characteristics. In addition, a moving picture decodingapparatus may be informed as to which of a single mode and aconventional independent mode is used in the moving picture codingapparatus by a single bit flag according to H.264/MPEG-4 AVC FRExt.

A case where the inter prediction mode selection unit 102 selects asingle mode will be described in detail. The inter prediction modeselection unit 102 selects a size of blocks to be commonly applied toall the color components constituting the color space selected by thecolor space selection unit 101. The sizes of blocks constituting thecurrent picture can be 16×16, 16×8, 8×1, 8×8, 8×4, 4×8, 4×4, etc. Ingeneral, a 16×16 block is referred to as “macroblock”, and blocksobtained by dividing a macroblock to various sizes are referred as to“subblocks”. Moving picture coding and decoding are performed in suchblock units. A portion of a moving picture that requires more accuratecoding and decoding is coded and decoded in smaller block units.

In particular, the inter prediction mode selection unit 102 selects asize of blocks to be commonly applied to all color components. Forexample, the inter prediction mode selection unit 102 selects a size ofblocks to be commonly applied to the Y component, the Co component, andthe Cg component from among the sizes of blocks of the Y component, thesizes of blocks of the Cg component, and the sizes of blocks of the Cgcomponent. Alternatively, the inter prediction mode selection unit 102selects a size of blocks to be commonly applied to the R component, theG component, and the B component from among the sizes of blocks of the Rcomponent, the sizes of blocks of the G component, and the sizes of theblocks of the B component.

FIG. 2 illustrates the selection of a size of blocks in the movingpicture coding apparatus of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the inter prediction mode selection unit 102selects a size of blocks that is optimal to the macroblocks of all thecolor components and are commonly applied to all the color componentsfrom among the sizes of blocks constituting a macroblock of the Rcomponent, the sizes of blocks constituting a macroblock of the Gcomponent, and the sizes of blocks constituting a macroblock of the Bcomponent. This selection can apply to the YCgCo color space.

Next, the inter prediction mode selection unit 102 selects a singlemotion vector to be commonly applied to all the color componentsconstituting the color space from among motion vectors of all the colorcomponents in units of blocks corresponding to the selected size ofblocks. In particular, the inter prediction mode selection unit 102selects a single motion vector to be commonly applied to all the colorcomponents from among the motion vectors of the color componentscalculated by the motion estimation unit 103. For example, the interprediction mode selection unit 102 selects a single motion vector to becommonly applied to all the Y component, Co component, and Cg componentfrom among the motion vector of the Y component, the motion vector ofthe Co component, and the motion vector of the Cg component that arecalculated by the motion estimation unit 103. Alternatively, the interprediction mode selection unit 102 selects a single motion vector to becommonly applied to all the R component, G component, and B componentfrom among a motion vector of the R component, a motion vector of the Gcomponent, and a motion vector of the B component that are calculated bythe motion estimation unit 103.

FIG. 3 illustrates the selection of a motion vector in the movingpicture coding apparatus of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, the inter prediction mode selection unit 102selects a single motion vector that is optimal to the blocks of all thecolor components from among the motion vector for a block of the Rcomponent, the motion vector for a block of the G component, and themotion vector for a block of the B component. This selection can applyto the YCgCo color space.

The motion estimation unit 103 estimates motion in the current picturefor each color component based on a reference picture according to aninter prediction mode selected by the inter prediction mode selectionunit 102. In particular, the motion estimation unit 103 selects motionvectors to be independently applied to the color components constitutingthe color space in units of blocks that are independent for the colorcomponents or selects a motion vector to be commonly applied to thecolor components constituting the color spaces in units of blocks thatare common to all the color components according to the inter predictionmode selected by the inter prediction mode selection unit 102.

A case where the motion estimation unit 103 estimates motion accordingto a single mode will be described. The motion estimation unit 103calculates a motion vector corresponding to the displacement in thecurrent picture with respect to the reference picture in units of blockscorresponding to the size of blocks selected by the inter predictionmode selection unit 102. In the present embodiment, the current picturerefers to an object picture on which coding and decoding are performed.The reference picture indicates a picture referred to when coding ordecoding the current picture. In general, a picture preceding thecurrent picture is used as a reference picture. However, a picturefollowing the current picture also can be sued as a reference picture.Alternatively, a plurality of reference pictures can be used.

For example, the motion estimation unit 103 calculates a motion vectorof the Y component, a motion vector of the Co component, and a motionvector of the Cg component by estimating motion in the current picturefor each of the Y component, Co component, and Cg component based on thereference picture according to the inter prediction mode selected by theinter prediction mode selection unit 102. Alternatively, the motionestimation unit 103 calculates a motion vector of the R component, amotion vector of the G component, and a motion vector of the B componentby estimating motion in the current picture for each of the R component,G component, and B component based on the reference picture according tothe inter prediction mode selected by the prediction mode selection unit102.

The motion compensation unit 104 compensates for the motion between thecurrent picture and the reference picture according to the interprediction mode selected by the inter prediction mode selection unit102. In particular, the motion compensation unit 104 generates apredicted picture in the current picture from the reference picture inunits of blocks corresponding to the size of blocks selected by theinter prediction mode selection unit 102 using the motion vectorselected by the inter prediction mode selection unit 102. The interprediction performed by the motion estimation unit 103 and the motioncompensation unit 104 is for removing temporal redundancy between thecurrent picture and the reference picture.

For example, the motion compensation unit 104 generates a predictedpicture for the Y component, a predicted picture for the Co component,and a predicted picture for the Cg component by compensating for themotion between the current picture and the reference picture accordingto the inter prediction mode selected by the inter prediction modeselection unit 102. Alternatively, the motion compensation unit 104generates a predicted picture for the R component, a predicted picturefor the G component, and a predicted picture for the B component bycompensating for the motion between the current picture and thereference picture according to the inter prediction mode selected by theinter prediction mode selection unit 102.

The intra prediction mode selection unit 105 selects intra predictionmodes to be independently applied to the color components constitutingthe color space selected by the color space selection unit 101 or asingle intra prediction mode to be commonly applied to all the colorcomponents constituting the color space selected by the color spaceselection unit 101. According to MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 video coding schemes,there are 9 intra prediction modes in units of 4×4 blocks and 4 intraprediction modes in units of 16×16 blocks for a luma component, and 4intra prediction modes in units of 8×8 blocks for a chroma component. Ingeneral, since prediction modes for the luma component and the chromacomponent are different, the correlation between the color components islow, which is disadvantageous in RCT, IPP, or other similar transforms.The coding efficiency for moving pictures can be increased by applying asingle intra prediction mode to all the color components. Therefore, inthe present embodiment, an intra prediction mode in units of 4×4, 8×8,or 16×16 blocks for the luma component is applied to the chromacomponent.

The intra prediction mode selection unit 105 selects predictiondirections to be independently applied to the color componentsconstituting the color space, or selects a prediction direction to becommonly applied to all the color components constituting the colorspace from among prediction directions for the color componentsconstituting the color space according to the intra prediction modeselected by the intra prediction mode selection unit 105. A case wherethe intra prediction mode selection unit 105 selects a single mode willbe described in detail. The intra prediction mode selection unit 105selects a size of blocks to be commonly applied to all the colorcomponents constituting the color space selected by the color spaceselection unit 101. The sizes of blocks constituting the current picturecan be 16×16, 8×8, 4×4, etc. The selection of a size of blocks for intraprediction is performed in the same manner as for the inter predictionillustrated in FIG. 2.

Next, the intra prediction mode selection unit 105 selects a singleprediction direction to be commonly applied to all the color componentsconstituting the color space in units of blocks corresponding to thesize of blocks selected above from among prediction directions of thecolor components constituting the color space. For example, the intraprediction mode selection unit 105 selects a single prediction directionto be commonly applied to the Y component, Co component, and Cgcomponent from among a prediction direction of the Y component, aprediction direction of the Co component, and a prediction direction ofthe Cg component. Alternatively, the intra prediction mode selectionunit 105 selects a single prediction direction to be commonly applied tothe R component, G component, and B component from among a predictiondirection of the R component, a prediction direction of the G component,and a prediction direction of the B component.

FIG. 4 illustrates the selection of a prediction direction in the movingpicture coding apparatus of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4, the intra prediction mode selection unit 105selects a single prediction direction that is optimal to the blocks ofall the color components and is to be commonly applied to all the colorcomponents from among a prediction direction for a block in the Rcomponent, a prediction direction for a block in the G component, and aprediction direction for a block in the B component. This selection canapply to the YCgCo color space.

The intra prediction unit 106 estimates blocks constituting the currentpicture from adjacent pixels in a picture reconstructed by an adder 115,according to the intra prediction mode selected by the intra predictionmode selection unit 105, and generates a predicted picture constitutedby the predicted blocks. In particular, the intra prediction unit 106estimates blocks constituting the current picture from adjacent pixelsindicated by the prediction directions, which are independently appliedto the color components of the color space, in units of blocks that areindependent for the color components, and generates a predicted pictureconstituted by the predicted blocks. Alternatively, the intra predictionunit 106 estimates blocks constituting the current picture from adjacentpixels indicated by the prediction direction, which is commonly appliedto all the color components of the color space, in units of blocks thatare common to all the color components, and generates a predictedpicture constituted by the prediction direction. The intra predictionperformed by the intra prediction unit 106 is for removing spatialredundancy in the current picture.

For example, the intra prediction unit 106 predicts blocks constitutingthe current picture from adjacent pixels for each of the Y component, Cocomponent, and Cg component indicated by the prediction directionselected by the intra prediction mode selection unit 105 and generates apredicted picture for the Y component, a predicted picture for the Cocomponent, and a predicted picture for the Cg component. Alternatively,the intra prediction unit 106 predicts blocks constituting the currentpicture from adjacent pixels for each of the R component, G component,and B component indicated by the prediction direction selected by theintra prediction mode selection unit 105 and generates a predictedpicture for the R component, a predicted picture for the G component,and a predicted picture for the B component.

The subtractor 107 generates first residual data corresponding todifferences between the current picture and the predicted picture foreach of the color components generated by the motion compensation unit104 or by the intra prediction unit 106. For example, the subtractor 107generates the first residual data for the Y component, the firstresidual data for the Co component, and the first residual data for theCg component by calculating differences between the current picture andthe predicted picture for each of the Y component, Co component, and Cgcomponent that are generated by the motion compensation unit 104 or bythe intra prediction unit 106. Alternatively, the subtractor 107generates the first residual data for the R component, the firstresidual data for the G component, and the first residual data for the Bcomponent by calculating differences between the current picture and thepredicted picture for each of the R component, G component, and Bcomponent that are generated by the motion compensation unit 104 or bythe intra prediction unit 106.

FIG. 5 illustrates changes in correlation between residual data when asingle prediction mode is applied to different color components in anembodiment according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, plots 501 and 502 illustrate the correlationbetween residual data obtained by applying independent prediction modesto the color components. In particular, plot 501 illustrates thecorrelation between residual data for the R component and the Gcomponent, and plot 502 illustrates the correlation between residualdata for the B component and the G component. Meanwhile, plots 503 and504 illustrate the correlation between residual data obtained byapplying a signal prediction mode to all the color components. Inparticular, plot 503 illustrates the correlation between residual datafor the R component and G component, and plot 504 illustrates thecorrelation between residual data for the B component and the Gcomponent. As is apparent from the plots 501 through 504 in FIG. 5, thecorrelation between residual data for color components is higher when asingle prediction mode is applied to all the color components than whenindependent prediction modes are applied to the all the colorcomponents.

The residue transform unit 108 of FIG. 1 generates second residual datacorresponding to differences between the first residual data generatedby the subtractor 107 of FIG. 1. In the present embodiment, to increasethe coding efficiency for moving pictures, redundancy between the colorcomponents that remains after the prediction or intra prediction isutilized. The inter prediction utilizes temporal redundancy, and theintra prediction utilizes spatial redundancy. However, redundancybetween the color components still remains after the inter prediction orintra prediction.

FIG. 6 illustrates the correlation between color components when asingle prediction mode is applied to all the color components in anembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 6, plot 601 illustrates the correlation betweenthe R component and the G component after intra prediction. Plot 602illustrates the correlation between the B component and the G componentafter intra prediction. Plot 603 illustrates the correlation between theR component and the G component after inter prediction, and plot 604illustrates the correlation between the B component and the G componentafter inter prediction. As is apparent from the plots 601 through 604 inFIG. 6, there still remains a strong correlation between the residualdata for the color components after the inter prediction or intraprediction.

In other words, the residue transform unit 108 generates second residualdata corresponding to differences between the first residual data foreach of the Y component, the Co component, and the Cg component in theYCgCo color space using Equation Set (1) below. In particular,Y=(R+2G+B)>>2, Co=(R−B)>>1, and Cg=(−R+2G−B)>>2.Δ² B=ΔR−ΔBt=ΔB+(Δ² B>>1)Δ² R=ΔG−tΔ² G=t+(Δ² R>>1)  Equation Set (1)

Here, ΔX denotes first residual data, Δ²X denotes second residual data,the notation “>>” denotes right shift operation, which approximates adivision by 2, and variable t is used to the purpose of temporarycalculation.

Alternatively, the residue transform unit 108 generates second residualdata corresponding to differences between the first residual data foreach of the R component, the G component, and the B component in the RGBcolor space using Equation Set (2) below.Δ² G=ΔG′Δ² R=ΔR−ΔG′Δ² B=ΔB−ΔG′  Equation Set (2)

Here, ΔX denotes first residual data, Δ²X denotes second residual data,and ΔX′ denotes reconstructed first residual data. Equation (2) iseffective when the G component has a large amount of pictureinformation. The second residual data can be calculated using the Rcomponent or B component as a dominant component.

The frequency domain transform unit 109 transforms the second residualdata in the color space generated by the residue transform unit 108 intosecond residual data in a frequency domain. According to H.264/MPEG-4AVC, discrete hadamard transform (DHT), discrete cosine transform(DCT)-based integer transform, etc., are used as schemes for transformfrom the color space to the frequency domain.

The quantization unit 110 quantizes the frequency component valuestransformed by the frequency domain transform unit 109. In particular,the quantization unit 110 divides the frequency component valuestransformed by the frequency domain transform unit 109 by a quantizationparameter and approximates the divided results to integer values.

The entropy coding unit 111 generates a bitstream by entropy-coding thequantized values obtained by the quantization unit 110 and outputs thebitstream. According to H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, context-adaptive variablelength coding (CAVLC), context-adaptive binary arithmetic coding(CABAC), etc., are used as entropy coding schemes.

The dequantization unit 112 dequantizes the quantized values obtained bythe quantization unit 110. In particular, the dequantization unit 112reconstructs the frequency domain values by multiplying the integervalues approximated by the quantization unit 110 by the quantizationparameter.

The frequency domain inverse transform unit 113 reconstructs the secondresidual data by transforming the frequency component values in thefrequency domain reconstructed by the dequantization unit 112 into datain the color space.

The residue inverse transform unit 114 generates first residual datacorresponding to the sum of the second residual data reconstructed bythe frequency domain inverse transform unit 113. In particular, theresidue inverse transform unit 114 generates first residual datacorresponding to the sum of the second residual data for each of the Ycomponent, Co component, and Cg component in the YCgCo color space usingEquation Set (3) below.t=Δ ² G′−(Δ² R′>>1)ΔG′=Δ ² R′+tΔB′=t−(Δ² B′>>1)ΔR′=ΔB′+Δ ² B′  Equation Set (3)Here, ΔX′ denotes reconstructed first residual data and Δ²X′ denotesreconstructed second residual data.

Alternatively, the residue inverse transform unit 114 generates firstresidual data corresponding to the sum of the second residual data foreach of the R component, G component, and B component in the RGB colorspace, using Equation Set (4) below.ΔG′=Δ ² G′ΔR′=Δ ² R′+ΔG′ΔB′=Δ ² B′+ΔG′  Equation Set (4)Here, ΔX′ denotes reconstructed first residual data, and Δ²X′ denotesreconstructed second residual data.

The adder 115 generates a reconstructed picture corresponding to the sumof the predicted pictures generated by the motion compensation unit 104or the intra prediction unit 106 and the first residual data generatedby the residue inverse transform unit 114. For example, the adder 115generates a reconstructed picture in the YCgCo color space bycalculating the sum of the predicted pictures for the Y component, Cocomponent, and Cg component generated by the motion compensation unit104 or the intra prediction unit 106 and the first residual datagenerated by the residue inverse transform unit 114. Alternatively, theadder 115 generates a reconstructed picture in the RGB color space bycalculating the sum of the predicted pictures for the component, Gcomponent, and B component generated by the motion compensation unit 104or the intra prediction unit 106 and the first residual data generatedby the residue inverse transform unit 114.

The filter 116 improves the quality of the reconstructed picture bysmoothing distortion at block boundaries in the reconstructed picturegenerated by the adder 115. However, the filter 116 is not used for ahigh bit rate moving picture because high frequency components arelikely to be lost.

Although the moving picture coding apparatus in FIG. 1 uses a scheme ofadaptively applying a color space and a single mode scheme, it is to beunderstood that a moving picture coding apparatus using one of the twoschemes is also possible.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a moving picture decoding apparatusaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, a moving picture decoding apparatus according to anembodiment of the present invention includes an entropy decoding unit701, a dequantization unit 702, a frequency domain inverse transformunit 703, a residue inverse transform unit 704, a motion compensationunit 705, an intra prediction unit 706, an adder 707, and a filter 708.

The entropy decoding unit 701 reconstructs integer values byentropy-decoding an input bitstream output from, by way of anon-limiting example, the moving picture coding apparatus of FIG. 1.

The dequantization unit 702 dequantizes the integer values reconstructedby the entropy decoding unit 701 to reconstruct frequency componentvalues. In particular, the dequantization unit 702 reconstructs thefrequency component values by multiplying the integer valuesreconstructed by the entropy decoding unit 701 by a quantizationparameter.

The frequency domain inverse transform unit 703 transforms the frequencycomponent values in the frequency domain reconstructed by thedequantization unit 702 into data in the color space used in the movingpicture coding apparatus to reconstruct second residual datacorresponding to the differences between the residual data for each ofthe color components constituting the color space.

The residue inverse transform unit 704 generates first residual datacorresponding to the sum of the second residual data in the color spaceused in the moving picture coding apparatus that are reconstructed bythe frequency domain inverse transform unit 703. In particular, theresidue inverse transform unit 704 generates first residual datacorresponding to the sum of the second residual data for each of the Ycomponent, Co component, and Cg component in the YCgCo color space,using Equation set (3). Alternatively, the residue inverse transformunit 704 generates first residual data corresponding to the sum of thesecond residual data for each of the R component, G component, and Bcomponent in the RGB color space using Equation Set (4).

The motion compensation unit 705 compensates for the motion between thecurrent picture and the reference picture according to the interprediction mode used in the moving picture coding apparatus. In otherwords, the motion compensation unit 705 compensates for the motionbetween the current picture and the reference picture according to interprediction modes independently applied to the color components of thecolor space or an inter prediction mode commonly applied to all thecolor components of the color space.

In other words, the motion compensation unit 705 compensates for themotion between the current picture and the reference picture accordingto a single inter prediction mode commonly applied to all the colorcomponents. In particular, the motion compensation unit 705 generatespredicted pictures for the current picture using motion vectors, whichare independently applied to the color components in units of blocksthat are independent for the color components. Alternatively, the motioncompensation unit 705 generates predicted pictures for the currentpicture using a single motion vector, which is commonly applied to allthe color components in units of blocks that are common to the colorcomponents. In other words, the motion compensation unit 705 generatedpredicted pictures for the current picture from the reference picture inunits of blocks corresponding to the size of blocks commonly applied toall the color components using the motion vector commonly applied to allthe color components.

The intra prediction unit 706 predicts blocks constituting the currentpicture from adjacent pixels in a picture reconstructed by the adder707, according to the intra prediction mode used in the moving picturecoding apparatus, and generates predicted pictures constituted by thepredicted blocks. In other words, the intra prediction unit 706 predictsblocks constituting the current picture from adjacent pixels in apicture reconstructed by the adder 707, according to the intraprediction modes independently applied to the color components or aintra prediction mode commonly applied to all the color components, andgenerates predicted pictures constituted by the predicted blocks. Inparticular, the intra prediction unit 706 predicts blocks constitutingthe current picture from adjacent pixels indicated by the predictiondirection used in the moving picture coding apparatus and generatespredicted pictures constituted by the predicted blocks. In other words,the intra prediction unit 706 predicts blocks constituting the currentpicture from adjacent pixels indicated by the prediction directions,which are independently applied to the color components in units ofblocks that are independent for the color components, and generatespredicted pictures constituted by the predicted blocks. Alternatively,the intra prediction unit 706 predicts blocks constituting the currentpicture in units of blocks corresponding to the size of blocks commonlyapplied to all the color components, from adjacent pixels for each ofthe color components indicated by the prediction direction commonlyapplied to all the color components.

The adder 707 generates a reconstructed picture corresponding to the sumof the predicted pictures generated by the motion compensation unit 705or the intra prediction unit 706 and the first residual data generatedby the residue inverse transform unit 704. For example, the adder 707generates a reconstructed picture in the YCgCo color space bycalculating the sum of the predicted pictures for the Y component, Cocomponent, and Cg component generated by the motion compensation unit705 or the intra prediction unit 706 and the first residual datagenerated by the residue inverse transform unit 704. Alternatively, theadder 707 generates a reconstructed picture in the RGB color space bycalculating the sum of the predicted pictures for the R component, Gcomponent, and B component generated by the motion compensation unit 705or the intra prediction unit 706 and the first residual data generatedby the residue inverse transform unit 704.

The filter 708 improves the quality of the reconstructed picture bysmoothening distortion at block boundaries in the reconstructed picturegenerated by the adder 707. However, the filter 708 is not used for ahigh bit rate moving picture because high frequency components arelikely to be lost.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are flowcharts of a moving picture coding methodaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 8A and 8B, a moving picture coding method accordingto an embodiment of the present invention includes operations performedin time-series in the moving picture coding apparatus of FIG. 1. Thedescriptions of the moving picture coding apparatus with reference toFIG. 1 apply to the moving picture coding method in the presentembodiment, and thus the descriptions thereof will not be repeated here.

In operation 801, the moving picture coding apparatus selects a colorspace from among a plurality of color spaces based on thecharacteristics of a current picture.

In operation 802, the moving picture coding apparatus determines whetherto perform inter prediction or intra prediction. Operation 803 isperformed for inter prediction, or operation 806 is performed for intraprediction.

In operation 803, the moving picture coding apparatus selects interprediction modes to independently applied to the color componentsconstituting the color space selected in operation 801 or an interprediction mode to be commonly applied to all the color componentsconstituting the color space selected in operation 801.

In operation 804, the moving picture coding apparatus selects motionvectors to be independently applied to the color components constitutingthe color space or selects a motion vector to be commonly applied to allthe color components constituting the color space according to the interprediction mode selected in operation 803.

In operation 805, the moving picture coding apparatus generatespredicted pictures for the current picture from a reference pictureusing the motion vector selected in operation 804.

In operation 806, the moving picture coding apparatus selects intraprediction modes to independently applied to the color componentsconstituting the color space selected in operation 801 or a intraprediction mode to be commonly applied to all the color componentsconstituting the color space selected in operation 801.

In operation 807, the moving picture coding apparatus selects predictiondirections to be independently applied to the color componentsconstituting the color space, or selects a prediction direction to becommonly applied to all the color components constituting the colorspace from among predicted directions for the color components,according to the intra prediction mode selected in operation 806.

In operation 808, the moving picture coding apparatus predicts blocksconstituting the current picture from adjacent pixels indicated by thepredicted direction selected in operation 807 and generates predictedpictures constituted by the predicted blocks.

In operation 809, the moving picture coding apparatus generates firstresidual data corresponding to differences between the current pictureand the predicted picture for each of the color components generated inoperation 805 or 808.

In operation 810, the moving picture coding apparatus generates secondresidual data corresponding to differences between the first residualdata.

In operation 811, the moving picture coding apparatus transforms thesecond residual data in the color space generated in operation 810 intovalues in a frequency domain.

In operation 812, the moving picture coding apparatus quantizes thevalues transformed in operation 811.

In operation 813, the moving picture coding apparatus generates abitstream by entropy-coding the values quantized in operation 812 andoutputs the bitstream.

In operation 814, the moving picture coding apparatus reconstructsfrequency component values by dequantizing the values quantized inoperation 812.

In operation 815, the moving picture coding apparatus reconstructs thesecond residual data by transforming the frequency component valuesreconstructed in operation 814 into data in the color space.

In operation 816, the moving picture coding apparatus generates firstresidual data corresponding to the sum of the second residual datareconstructed in operation 815.

In operation 817, the moving picture coding apparatus generates areconstructed picture corresponding to the sum of the predicted picturesfor the color components generated in operation 805 or 808 and the firstresidual data generated in operation 816.

In operation 818, the moving picture coding apparatus improves thequality of the reconstructed picture by smoothening distortion at blockboundaries in the reconstructed picture generated in operation 816.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a moving picture decoding method according toan embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 9, a moving picture decoding method according to anembodiment of the present invention includes operations performed intime-series in the moving picture decoding apparatus of FIG. 7. Thedescriptions of the moving picture decoding apparatus with reference toFIG. 7 apply to the moving picture decoding method in the presentembodiment, and thus the descriptions thereof will not be repeated here.

In operation 901, the moving picture decoding apparatus reconstructsinteger values by entropy-decoding the bitstream output from a movingpicture coding apparatus such as, by way of a non-limiting example, thatof FIG. 1.

In operation 902, the moving picture decoding apparatus reconstructsfrequency component values by dequantizing the integer valuesreconstructed in operation 902.

In operation 903, the moving picture decoding apparatus reconstructs thesecond residual data corresponding to the differences between the firstresidual data constituting the color space used in the moving picturecoating apparatus among a plurality of color spaces by transforming thefrequency component values in the frequency domain reconstructed inoperation 902 into data in the color space used in the moving picturecoding apparatus.

In operation 904, the moving picture decoding apparatus generates firstresidual data corresponding to the sum of the second residual datareconstructed in operation 903 in the color spaced used in the movingpicture coding apparatus.

In operation 905, the moving picture coding apparatus determines whetherto perform inter prediction or intra prediction. Operation 906 isperformed for inter prediction, or operation 907 is performed for intraprediction.

In operation 906, the moving picture decoding apparatus compensates forthe motion between a current picture and a reference picture accordingto inter prediction modes independently applied to the color componentsconstituting the color space or an inter prediction mode commonlyapplied to all the color components.

In operation 907, the moving picture decoding apparatus predicts blocksconstituting the current picture from adjacent pixels in a reconstructedpicture according to the inter prediction modes independently applied tothe color components or the single inter prediction mode commonlyapplied to the color components, and generates a predicted pictureconstituted by the predicted blocks.

In operation 908, the moving picture decoding apparatus generates areconstructed picture corresponding to the sum of the predicted picturesgenerated in operation 906 or 907 and the first residual data generatedby the residue inverse transform unit 704.

In operation 909, the moving picture decoding apparatus improves thequality of the reconstructed picture generated in operation 908 bysmoothening distortion at block boundaries in the reconstructed picture.

FIG. 10 is the results of a simulation test according to embodiments ofthe present invention.

As is apparent from Table 1001 and Table 1002 in FIG. 10, in thesimulation test, RCT and IPP were performed in a single prediction mode.The results were compared with the results of coding according toH.264/MPEG-4 AVC FRExt. JM9.3 reference software was used for thesimulation test. The test conditions are as follows. Film and Vipersequences (1920×1088 @ 24 Hz, progressive) were used as a test material,the search range was 64, quantization parameters were 12, 18, 24, 30,and 36, the number of reference pictures, i.e., reference frames, was 3,an entropy coding scheme was CABAC, the RD-optimized mode selection was“ON”, the GOP (Group of Pictures) structure was IBBP, and the number ofslice groups was 1.

The methods used in the simulation test are as follows. IPP is a methodaccording to an embodiment of the present invention using IPP and singlemode prediction, RCT is a method according to an embodiment of thepresent invention using RCT and single mode prediction, RCT (FREXT) isRGB coding using YCgCo for residual color transform, and YCgCo isexternal YCgCo coding in which RGB input data are converted to YCgCobefore being coded. In particular, to evaluate the fidelity of thereconstructed RGB images, the average of peak signal to noise rates(PSNR) of all the color components, i.e., the average of RGB components,was measured. The results are shown in Table 1001 of FIG. 10. Inaddition, the PSNR gain in each of the methods over the YCgCo method attwo high bit-rates (20 Mbps and 60 Mbps) appears in Table 1001. As shownin Table 1002, the results of Y PSNR in YCgCo domain with approximatelyequal fidelity for chroma channels were compared in order to isolate theeffect on a luma channel (most important channel).

FIG. 11 is a graph comparatively showing the coding efficiencies ofvarious methods according to embodiments of the present invention in alossless mode.

In the near future, it will be important to support lossless andnear-lossless video compression. In H.264/MPEG-4 AVC FRExt, losslesscoding can be achieved by skipping frequency domain transform andquantization. The methods according to en embodiment of the presentinvention can be applied to lossless coding when frequency domaintransform and quantization are skipped. As is apparent from FIG. 11, theefficiency of the method using IPP and single mode prediction is highestin lossless coding.

FIGS. 12A and 12B are rate distortion (RD) curves obtained throughsimulation of embodiments of the present invention.

In this simulation, only intra coding was performed. In particular, toevaluate the coding performance when independent intra prediction modesare used, all the color components were treated as monochromatic images.

Embodiments of the present invention can be written as computer programsand can be implemented in general-use digital computers that execute theprograms using a computer readable recording medium. In addition, thedata structures used in the embodiments of the present invention can bewritten to a computer readable medium by various means.

Examples of the computer readable recording medium include magneticstorage media (e.g., ROM, floppy disks, hard disks, etc.), opticalrecording media (e.g., CD-ROMs, or DVDs), and storage media such ascarrier waves (e.g., transmission through the Internet).

According to the above-described embodiments of the present invention,since residual data are generated according to a single prediction modecommonly applied to all the color components, the correlation betweenthe residual data is high. As a result, the coding efficiency of movingpictures increases. In addition, according to the present invention, thecoding efficiency of a moving picture can be increased using a singlecolor space adaptively selected among a plurality of color spacesaccording to the characteristics of the moving picture. Furthermore,according to the present invention, the coding efficiency of movingpictures can be maximized by applying all the methods described above.

Although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown anddescribed, the present invention is not limited to the describedembodiments. Instead, it would be appreciated by those skilled in theart that changes may be made to these embodiments without departing fromthe principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which isdefined by the claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. An image decoding method comprising: obtaininginformation about a color representation from a bitstream; obtaining aprediction direction of a chroma component from among a plurality ofprediction modes associated with a prediction direction of a lumacomponent, wherein the plurality of prediction modes include a firstmode in which the prediction direction of the chroma component isidentical to the prediction direction of the luma component and a secondmode in which the prediction direction of the chroma component isdifferent from the prediction direction of the luma component; obtaininga predicted image based on the prediction direction of the lumacomponent and the prediction direction of the chroma component; andreconstructing a current image by using a residue and the predictedimage, based on the information about the color representation.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the information about the colorrepresentation indicates a color space into which color components arerepresented; color representation indicates a color space into whichcolor components are represented.